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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. clip — a video
  3. wind — moving air
  4. clip — to cut
  5. present — a gift
  6. foot — a measure
  7. bass — low music
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. face — to confront
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. face — to point toward
  12. bass — the fish
  13. root — of a word
  14. kick — in football
  15. root — of a plant
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. present — there
  18. face — part of the head
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. root — the cause
  22. present — the time now
  23. wind — moving air
  24. clip — for paper

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com